In Defiance Of Fate
by Lord Noctis
Summary: The time patrol thought they could rest after the defeat of Mira, but already a new threat looms, one which will push the time patrol into their darkest hour. Now a mix of veteran warriors and fresh recruits must band together if they are to have any hope of saving all of time and space from this new adversary.


**In Defiance Of Fate**

 **Author's Note: Well, it sure has been a long time since I posted a new story, or did much of any writing really. I don't know for sure if I'm going to see this through to the end or not, but writing this chapter was more fun than I've had in a long while, so here's hoping. Please leave a review if you like, or even if you don't like. Constructive criticism is always welcome around these parts.**

Chapter One

The two junior time patrol members were seated on a bench near the large holographic display of Lenteal, the saiyan woman who had recently defeated the time criminal known as Mira. The hologram along with the stars above cast a soft glow over the otherwise dark plaza which sat between the market square and primary dispatch center of the Time Patrol. The two were having a debate that in the grand scheme of things would have seemed rather trivial, but which both of them were approaching with considerable enthusiasm. The younger of the two, a human woman named Linda said "No way, Ace is cool and all, but he was literally summoned by the eternal dragon to be a champion of time. There's no way he was gonna be anything other than amazingly strong."

"That's true," the other, a human man named Victor said. "Besides, with a name like Ace, he has to be cool."

Linda shook her head. "I don't think that's the reason Vic, I really don't."

"Of course it is!" Victor said insistently. "Can you think of a reason a guy named Ace wouldn't be cool?"

Linda sighed with exasperation. "Yes, but that's not the point. I'm telling you, Lenteal started off as just another recruit like us, and now she's one of the most elite fighters in the whole Time Patrol, a full blown honest to goodness heroine. Ace had destiny on his side, Lenteal had to earn it, and that's inspiring."

Victor blinked. "It is?"

"Of course it is," came the reply. "If she could rise up like that then that means we can too, don't you see?" Victor started to respond, but paused, his gaze now fixed on something behind her.

"Well that's odd," he said.

Curious, Linda turned her head to look, and felt a chill run down her spine. There was a cloaked figure standing a short distance away. The person was short, right around five feet in height, and their features were concealed in cloak and shadow. The figure was peering up at the small mountain atop which rested the portal that connected Conton city to the time nest where the entire history of the multiverse was stored.

Where had this individual come from, Linda wondered. They certainly hadn't been present a moment ago.

Victor must have been wondering the same thing, and decided to seek an answer. "Hey, who are you?"

"Victor, don't be rude," she admonished him. "It must just be another time patroller we haven't met yet." She turned to the figure, meaning to apologize for her friends behavior, and it was then she noticed the growing sphere of violet ki forming above the stranger's palm. She just had time to let out a scream before the attack consumed her and Victor both.

* * *

Ace woke up an instant before the first explosion rocked his small house on the outskirts of Conton City, home of the Time Patrol. The red headed saiyan sprang from his bed and rushed outside. By the time he cleared his front door a second explosion could be heard. He could immediately tell that the detonation had been distant, though judging by the intensity of the vibrations rumbling their way through the ground, it had not been a small blast. It only took a moment to locate the source of the explosions once he head cleared the front door. Two rapidly expanding pillars of fire and smoke were rising up from within the heart of Conton City.

"Ace, can you hear me?" The time patroller jolted at the unexpected, though familiar voice in his head. It was Chronoa, the supreme kai of time.

"I hear you," He replied as he launched into the air and began flying towards the source of the blasts. "Whats happening?"

"That's what I'd like to know," came the response. "Someone is trying to break into the time vault. You need to hurry, whoever it is is to strong for the regular patrollers to fight."

And yet Ace couldn't sense the ki of the attacker, only the defenders, who were dropping like flies according to his senses. "Wheres Trunks?"

"He went out on a small mission earlier this evening. I tried to alert him, but somethings blocking my attempts. Right now you're all we've got."

Ace grimaced. He didn't like flying into unknown situations without back up, but it didn't seem like he had a choice. "Understood, I'll be there soon." And just to make sure he ascended into the Super Saiyan state and promptly used the fresh wave of power now coursing through his body to accelerate far beyond his normal speed.

* * *

Turpin had been engaged in his nightly sparring match with the saiyan woman from planet Sadala in universe 6 known as Lenteal when the first explosions occurred. He had joined the time patrol only a short few months ago. He had been uncertain of his place back then. A fresh recruit from earth eager to abandon his past and embrace the saiyan side of his heritage. Lenteal had helped him out, teaching him to fight, telling him about the culture of Universe 6 saiyans. She had even given him a saiyan name to replace his earth name when he had asked her for one. Made it easier to put his past behind him.

He wasn't sure why she had opted to help him. Certainly not out of kindness, and not likely out of any sense of sympathy. She might have come from planet Sadala in universe 6, but her attitude was much closer to the violent saiyans of Planet Vegeta. Perhaps she was merely curious about him. Or maybe she just enjoyed having a willing and eager punching bag.

Their sparring matches usually consisted of her raising her power above his and then beating him into the ground night after night. As he gradually got used to that level of power and began to fight back more effectively she would simply power up a bit more and start the cycle anew. It was not a terribly pleasant way to train, but he couldn't deny that his skills had improved dramatically as a result. He even thought he might be on the cusp of achieving the Super Saiyan state for himself. Maybe he could even achieve such a power tonight, if Lenteal managed to piss him off enough. She did seem to enjoy pushing his buttons, especially once he was already down.

It was in that hope that he had flown out to their normal spot: a remote clearing surrounded by large boulders by the waterfalls a mile or so past the edge of Conton city.

This nights match had started much the same as any other. Turpin had shown up at the usual spot dressed in red and black saiyan armor over a black t-shirt and black gi pants tucked into his boots. Lenteal had already been waiting, dressed in her usual attire of black cargo pants, a black sports bra and short purple vest.

"Eager for another beating I see," she said in greeting.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Turpin replied. "This time you're the one who's gonna end up on the ground."

She favored him with a vicious grin. "Is that so? You think you can beat me with the moves I taught you?"

Turpin started running through a series of stretches as he responded. "Who says I haven't picked up a few new tricks?"

He received an incredulous stare. "You mean to tell me you've mastered some new fighting technique since last night? I'm not so sure I buy that." He hadn't, of course, but he was hoping he could work something out on the fly. He was getting awfully tired of never being able to land a punch.

"Well, then," Turpin cracked his knuckles and assumed a fighting stance like that of a boxer. "Lets have a go and you can see for yourself."

"Fine, fine," his mentor chuckled briefly. "Just don't complain when I send you home with a bloody lip."

"I'll show you," Turpin growled. The young man launched himself at his mentor with a right hook. She ducked under it easily and responded with a savage uppercut to his jaw. His vision flashed momentarily white as his head snapped back. By the time he'd regained his senses he'd already taken two more blows, a punch to his gut and a jab that crunched his nose painfully.

Not the best start, he thought. Determined not to go down without a fight, Turpin managed to duck under the next punch and attempted to sweep his opponents leg. She countered the move easily by raising her leg over his kick and driving her knee into his face. A fresh wave of agony exploded out from his already injured nose as he flew back. He managed to recover before he slammed into one of the large boulders that encircled their chosen sparring area, and used the great rock as a platform to spring back at his opponent.

He launched a volley of blows, though Lenteal dodged all of them without any noticeable effort. "Come on, boy, where are those new tricks you promised me?" Turpin tried to keep his rising frustration at bay. He needed a plan. He thought he had a good one. If he fired a blast into the ground he might be able to use the ensuing dust and smoke as cover to get behind her and land a blow. He was just about to put this plan into action when the first explosion erupted less than a mile away.

"What the hell!?" Lenteal whipped around to face the explosion, which seemed to have originated from the markets near the center of the city. A second explosion followed almost immediately. "Shit! Turpin, head back to the barracks and group up with the other trainees, now!"

The younger saiyan blinked. "What about you?"

Lenteal didn't even look at him. "Do as I say," she hissed. Then she was engulfed in a raging aura of golden energy as she transformed and launched herself into the city. Turpin turned to follow her orders, but hesitated. He didn't sense any malevolent energy from the direction of the explosions, which meant there probably wasn't an enemy there, which meant something else was going on. Curiosity welled up inside of him. He wanted to see what was happening. Besides, maybe he could help with whatever was going on, and possibly earn a promotion to full time patroller status. That decided it, he took to the air and followed after his mentor without another thought.

* * *

Ace took in the scene before him in an instant. Half a dozen veterans of the time patrol lay dead around the main plaza, their bodies burnt and twisted from the force of the attacks that had claimed their lives. Only the namekian warrior Immai, and the human woman Hakusa still held their ground against the attacker. The attacker was a slender figure, whose appearance was concealed beneath a crimson cloak. A powerful aura of dark red ki pulsated violently around the individual, though Ace still couldn't sense anything from them. That concerned him greatly. He set down between Immai and Hakusa, who had placed themselves between the unknown assailant and the grand staircase that wound its way up to the time vault entrance.

"Ace? Thank god!" Hakusa exclaimed breathlessly. "I don't know who she is, but nothing we've tried has even slowed her down yet. We could really use your help, even if you are still dressed in your jammies."

Immai nodded his agreement. "We're not even sure where she came from, and she hasn't deigned to say anything thus far."

Ace narrowed his eyes as he regarded the figure. Now that he was standing in front of the enemy he could see a little under her hood, just enough to make the feminine features of her blue skinned face. She had stopped her advance, and seemed to be examining him in turn.

"Guys," he said, "fall back and protect Chronoa for me. I'll handle this."

"Huh? Are you sure?" Hakusa asked.

"I don't plan to hold back," Ace responded.

The other two warriors shared a glance between them before Immai spoke. "We'll do as you say, but we'll keep an eye on the situation and return if she proves to much for you."

"Understood, now go." Ace commanded. They both nodded once before rushing up the stairs to the time vault. All the while the mysterious woman simply observed, seemingly content to wait for Ace to make the first move. Well, he thought, first things first. "Who are you?"

The woman shrugged. "Why should I answer that?"

Ace blinked. He hadn't really expected a response after what the others had told him. "I guess you don't have to if you don't want to. Fine then, I'll lay this out clearly. I'll give you one chance to surrender. Refuse, and I'll make sure you pay dearly for every one of my comrades that you've killed today."

The woman glanced around at the scattered corpses. "This lot?" She chuckled softly to herself. "I don't know why you're upset. No doubt you're already planning to restore them with the dragon balls just as soon as you beat me, yes?"

"That isn't the point," Ace growled. "Will you surrender or not?"

The woman seemed to consider the question. "Maybe I should. You are putting out a lot more power than the ones I've already fought." A grin crossed her face. "Then again, I wouldn't mind getting a first hand look at the power that destroyed the demon god Demigra."

Ace frowned. He didn't know how this woman knew of Demigra, and he decided he didn't care at that particular moment. It was clear she had no intention of surrendering, which left him with only one option. He would have been lying if he said he didn't prefer it that way.

"Have it your way, but don't say you weren't warned." Without any further preamble, the champion of the time patrol launched himself towards his eagerly awaiting adversary.

* * *

Lenteal sensed Ace preparing to engage in battle, and was just about to accelerate in order to join him when she became aware of two ki signatures following her. She came to a stop and glared back the way she'd come. The closer of the two was definitely Turpin. It seemed the former earthling had trouble following instructions. She snarled quietly to herself and resolved to beat that flaw out of him once the current emergency had passed.

She briefly considered ignoring the foolish young man, but after a moment she decided to wait. If the enemy was able to defeat Ace in the short time it would take her to reprimand her pupil then she doubted her presence in the fight would make any meaningful difference.

While she waited she contemplated the second ki that was approaching. Another one of the trainees from the feel of it. The majin girl who had been recruited a few weeks before Turpin, though Lenteal couldn't remember her name.

All thoughts of reprimand fled her head as the first shock waves of the battle tore the air asunder.

* * *

Ace pulled himself from the pile of rubble that mere moments ago had been the dispatch center for parallel quests. A groan escaped him as he felt the growing pain in his face. He had intended to start off nice and easy to try gauge the woman's strength. Perhaps, he thought, that hadn't been the best idea. All he'd gotten for his efforts were a swift kick to the face and a short flight across the plaza.

He snapped back out of his thoughts as the woman leaped into the air above him and hurled a crackling orb of violet energy towards him. A wave of alarm flashed through his mind as the blast approached. Without being able to sense the woman's power he had no way of knowing how strong her attack might be. Should he try to deflect it, or would it overpower him? But what if he dodged it, only to find out that it was strong enough to destroy Conton City? With an internal grimace he decided on a course of action. He quickly cupped his hands at his side.

"Kamehameha!" He thrust his hands forward releasing a powerful stream of blue energy. The two attacks met with a cataclysmic force that sent shock waves out in all directions. What was left of the markets and kiosks surrounding the two combatants were obliterated outright, and Ace could feel the ground shatter beneath his feet. He grit his teeth as he felt the woman's attack pushing against his own, but with a herculean effort he was able drive back his opponent's attack, though she managed to get out of the way before the repelled energy could strike her.

"Wow!" The woman exclaimed with a downright giddy tone. "I heard that you were strong, but I never guessed you'd be able to repel my attack as a regular Super Saiyan."

Ace didn't respond. The time for talk had long since passed in his opinion. Now was the time for action. He sprang into the air behind the woman with blinding speed and drove his elbow into the space between her shoulder blades. She let out a startled cry as the force of the blow sent her rocketing into the ground at many times the speed of sound. He followed up with a volley of ki blasts that blasted apart what was left of the ground, vaporizing all the concrete and underlying ground at the points of impact while the surrounding stone melted from the sheer heat of the blasts. He let up after a moment and hovered in the air above the smoking super heated pit he had just created, waiting with bated breath to see if the woman would rise up to continue the fight.

Much to his growing annoyance she did. She hovered slowly up from within the depths of the pit. Her cloak had seemingly disintegrated as a result of the attack, revealing the red and yellow body suit she wore beneath it, along with her blood red hair and eyes. Unfortunately it didn't seem as if she had suffered any actual damage from the attack. Nor did she seem to be particularly bothered by it. If anything she seemed even more enthusiastic about things now than she had before.

"Amazing! At this rate you could almost certainly overpower me if you were to ascend to the next level."

Ace blinked. "You want me to power up more?"

The woman nodded. "Very much so. I've come a long way, it wouldn't do to leave without seeing all that you have to offer. Besides, you owe it to your fallen comrades, don't you?"

What the hell was going on here? It was clear to Ace that she was deliberately trying to goad him into using more of his power, but why? He didn't believe for one second that she was genuinely just curious, she had to have some sort of hidden agenda. The question was, should he risk it? No, he decided. He didn't dare risk walking into a trap without first acquiring more information. Perhaps it was time for some goading of his own.

"If you really want me to transform maybe you should start putting on a better performance. Frankly, I don't see any need to use more power than this just yet." He watched her face closely for any sign of what she might be thinking as he spoke those words.

The woman gave a long sigh. "I see, well if that's how you feel then I guess it would be rude of me not to comply." A playful smile crossed her face. "Have it your way, but don't say you weren't warned."

Ace had just enough time to feel irritated about having his own words thrown back at him before her fist crashed into his stomach with the force of a raging comet. His breath was explosively expelled from his lungs as he doubled over, just in time to see her booted foot swinging up towards his face. Pain blossomed in his skull, and it took him a moment to register the fact that he was now hurling into the sky. He was able to halt his momentum with a not insignificant degree of effort. The woman was on him in an instant, hammering her way through his guard with a brutal onslaught of punches and kicks. The sensation was much like what Ace imagined it would feel like for a regular human to be struck repeatedly with a hammer.

"Come on time patroller," She said in an inviting tone. "Show me your real power. If you don't..." She vanished from in front of him, and an instant later a powerful kick slammed him across the back with tremendous force. Snarling, he whirled around with a punch that caught the woman square in the jaw and snapped her head back so violently that he was surprised he didn't hear her neck snap. An instant later she brought her head forward in a savage headbutt that crushed his nose into his face and sent him reeling backwards. Before he could recover, he felt a hand press against his chest and the woman finally completed her earlier sentence. "You'll die." Then his world was consumed in violet light and searing agony.

* * *

The first shock waves had stopped Turpin dead in his tracks. Up until that moment he had been proceeding on the assumption that whatever was going was some sort of terrible accident, like when a gas line would explode back on earth but on a more destructive scale. The notion that there could be a real danger to someone like him hadn't really crossed his mind. He figured he'd show up, help any wounded shop vendors who had been caught in the blast, clear away some rubble, collect a thank you from the supreme kai of time and maybe a promotion from trainee to junior time patroller if he was lucky.

Only when the shock wave finally startled him from his thoughts did he notice the massive ki of Ace raging somewhere ahead of him. He froze for a moment, astounded by the magnitude of the power he felt. He had spoken with Ace only a few times before, mostly during the initial recruitment process. The friendly and somewhat laid back man he had interacted with then was so at odds with both the level of power that he was sensing and the sheer fury of it that Turpin honestly wasn't sure if it really was the champion of the Time Patrol that he was sensing.

His brow furrowed in confusion. He still couldn't sense anyone other than Ace at the sight of whatever battle was occurring. What was going on? He didn't even consider the idea that Ace might be the enemy. He remembered something he'd learned in one of his classes shortly after joining the time patrol. Trunks had spoken to all the new trainees about the concept of artificial humans, describing them as being powerful warriors designed by one mad scientist or another, Turpin honestly couldn't recall the name right now. The most important point however was that those individuals could not be sensed the way other warriors could be due to their powers being generated artificially rather than by ki. Could such a being be attacking now?

"Hey, Turpin!" The young saiyan spun around in a startled rush to see who had spoken, but relaxed almost immediately. He knew that voice. The female majin known as Luvina flew up next to Turpin with a look of deep concern on her face. She was dressed in her usual outfit, a cape and body suit which she often claimed was supposed to be part of a Batman costume, although aside from the cape he didn't really see the resemblance. Like him, she was a trainee who had only joined a short while ago, and consequently they shared many of the same classes. He liked her well enough, even if her eccentricities sometimes irritated him.

"Luvina, good to see you," He greeted, hoping his voice didn't sound as shaky as he thought it did. He really was glad to see her. The growing danger and uncertainty of the situation ahead made him feel reluctant to proceed on his own, but if he had someone to watch his back then it should be fine.

"I was just going for a walk when suddenly BOOM, there were explosions! Whats going on? Are we under attack?" Luvina's voice carried the same fear and confusion that was beginning to build in Turpin's chest.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I was just on my way to find out."

The majin girl nodded once as a look of determination settled onto her face. "Lets go then! People might need help." Without a further word she launched ahead of him at full speed. He followed after her, though she was steadily pulling away. Just when he was beginning to think she would leave him behind in her rush to help, the sky ahead of them flashed a blindingly bright purple. Seconds later the roar of what must have been a truly titanic detonation screamed its way into his ears, accompanied by a howling, super heated wind that had him sweating like he'd just run a marathon. The noise was so loud that both he and Luvina came to a dead stop and clamped their hands over their ears, though even still the sheer intensity of it was enough to drown out any semblance of a thought.

Gradually the light and sound faded, and Turpin was able to turn his gaze ahead. He felt his arms go limp as he saw the towering column of fire and smoke that was slowly mushrooming out to obscure the entire horizon. He wanted to say something to Luvina, ask if she was seeing the same thing he was, because surely he had to be hallucinating right now. Before he could even begin to form a word he felt something new ahead of him: a rapidly building power the likes of which he would never have imagined to be possible. He could only stare in slack jawed awe as a raging storm of golden ki split the mushroom cloud in half and seemingly endless power flooded his senses.

* * *

Pain, anger, fear, desperation, but above all else determination. Those words made up the entirety of the existence of the saiyan warrior known as Ace at this specific moment in time. He didn't wonder who his foe might be, nor where she had come from. He spent no more time pondering what sort of trap she might have waiting to spring on him, or what her ultimate goal might be. He only knew one thing, that he had to defeat her here and now. Conton City was full of good people, including his fellow time patrollers, all the support staff, teachers, scientists and vendors who worked tirelessly to support the time patrol in their never ending quest to protect the space time continuum, not to mention those poor souls who had been displaced from now dead timelines who had nowhere else to go, no other home to return to.

In the past they had always known they could turn to Ace to defend them, to defend everything. His very existence had been conjured by the eternal dragon for that very purpose, and he knew he could never lead nor even want any other life for himself. It was his duty, his purpose to ensure the safety of this place and all those who dwelt here, and now they were being threatened by a deadly adversary who seemed to hold no regard whatsoever for the lives of others. Even now he could feel many lives vanishing as they were consumed in the expanding wave of fire and destruction that had been caused by her last attack against him.

He knew in the core of his being that if this battle continued, many more people would die. Perhaps all of Conton City would disappear in a hellish inferno the likes of which was rarely seen even by saiyan eyes. Even the time vault itself, and along with it every time line and universe that had ever existed, or ever would exist might also be threatened by the reckless destruction and sinister ambitions of his mysterious adversary.

He wouldn't allow it. No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't that he wouldn't allow it, he absolutely could not allow it. So he did what he had always done before, what all those people, time lines and universes needed him to do. He stood amidst the raging destruction that surrounded him and began to release all the power he had. Lightning crackled through his rapidly expanding golden aura, and his eyes narrowed with fury, and he allowed his power to rise in the form of an inhuman scream until that power swelled beyond all conceivable limitations.

The storm that was his power blew away the smoke and the flame and the dust that surrounded him until he stood once more in the clear air and could look upon the destruction. Where once there had been dispatch centers, kiosks, market stalls, and a great plaza dedicated to the heroes of the Time Patrol, there now existed only a flat expanse of super heated glass and molten concrete and marble. Gone were benches and fountains where various time patrollers chose to spend their down time relaxing and talking with one another, replaced only by an absolute desolation.

Two eyes carrying a quiet yet seething rage slowly turned upwards to behold the woman who had wrought this destruction. On her face was a smug, satisfied smile, yet he could see the beginnings of fear and uncertainty in her eyes, and that was good. Let this monster feel regret for her actions, and dread for the repercussions that would now follow.

The living mass of rage and vengeance that had once been known as Ace gathered his strength in anticipation of the following clash and shot towards his opponent with a speed to match his anger. Short of the Gods themselves there existed no power in this or any other universe that could have stopped him in that instant.

* * *

That settled it, Lenteal thought. First the titanic explosion that had rocked all of Conton City, followed by the full release of Ace's power had made it painfully clear that whatever battle was taking place was well above even her considerable pay grade. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but there was no way she would be able to make any meaningful contribution in a fight of such magnitude. That left her with one course of action. First, she needed to go collect the two trainees who seemed to have frozen up not terribly far behind her. Next she needed to get to the time vault. Maybe her powers wouldn't be enough to participate in the fighting directly, but she could at least ensure that Chronoa and the time producing bird called Toki-toki didn't get caught up in the crossfire.

It took her only a couple of seconds at full speed to reach Turpin and the majin girl. The two were so caught up in the spectacle of what was happening that they hardly seemed to notice her approach. When Turpin did turn his gaze towards her she was surprised to see that all the color had drained from his face. His usual bravado had been replaced with naked fear. Under normal circumstances that might have angered Lenteal, but there was no time for that now. Action was required without delay.

"You two!" Both trainees jumped to attention in response to her shout.

"Whats happ-" Turpin began, but there was no time for that.

"Shut up and listen," Lenteal growled. The young saiyans mouth clapped shut with an audible clicking of his teeth. "I'm going to defend the time vault. Normally I'd tell you two idiots to head back to the trainee barracks, but things are getting too dangerous for me to leave you unattended, so you're both coming with me, now. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," the two cried in unison.

The saiyan woman nodded once. "Good. Lets go!" The flight took an obnoxiously long time, seeing as she had to keep her speed down to let the two trainees keep up, but they only took a minute or so regardless. The whole time she was acutely aware of the shock waves and explosions coming from where Ace was battling whoever the enemy was.

They arrived to find three patrollers already guarding the portal to the time nest. Immai, Hakusa, and the frost demon Celsius. The human and the namekian both bore injuries, telling Lenteal that they had already engaged the enemy. As such, Lenteal ignored Celsius and went straight to the other two.

"Give me an update. What are we up against?"

Hakusa shrugged. "Fuck, I don't have any idea. A woman, I think, but whoever it is she wouldn't say who she was. She's damn strong though."

No shit, thought Lenteal. Anyone who could get Ace to fight all out could be nothing shy of an absolute monster.

Immai didn't have much to add either. "By now I'm sure we're all aware that the enemies ki can't be sensed, so gathering any more information from here will no doubt prove difficult."

"For you all, perhaps," Celsius said softly, though he sounded just a tad bit distracted.

Lenteal turned her head to face him. She ought to have known, Celsius had always been better at sensing things than almost anyone else in the city. She kicked herself mentally for forgetting, then swiftly moved on. "What do you mean?"

"Its not much," Celsius began. "I've been able to detect small snippets of the enemies power. Not enough to gauge her actual strength, but enough to start getting a feel for her nature. But, its very strange, downright bizarre in fact."

Lenteal frowned. "Bizarre? In what way?"

Celsius shook his head. "Its hard to describe. The closest I could come to it would be to say it feels like the sensation you get when you use the scrolls in the time vault to travel through time."

Nobody had a response for that. Silence reigned over the group for a brief moment before the majin girl chose to speak.

"Hey, shouldn't the supreme kai of time be here too?"

"Yes," Celsius replied. "She went to the vault a moment ago to retrieve Toki-toki. Said she'd rejoin us in a moment."

Any further conversation came to an end as all of their attention was drawn to the battlefield, where something truly strange and altogether terrifying started to happen.

* * *

A knee to the gut, an elbow to the back of the neck, a roundhouse kick that crashed into the side of the head with a resounding crash. These were but a few of the blows that Ace hammered his foe with. She made some attempts at retaliation, but he deflected her blows with ease before following up with an even more vicious offensive of his own. She tried to fall back, but he stayed on her with a right hook to the jaw. He wanted to keep the fighting up close and personal. He didn't dare risk letting her get off another blast attack like the last one so close to the time nest.

Unfortunately it seemed the woman had other ideas. As Ace charged for another blow the woman threw out her arms and projected a powerful barrier around her body. The barrier shattered under the force of his fist, but it bought her just enough time to leap up into the air away from him. He moved to pursue, then widened his eyes as he saw what she was doing. Four tendrils of softly glowing pink energy extended from her back, with a number of brightly glowing bulbs forming along each one.

"Lets see how well you can handle this," She snarled. In an instant dozens of blasts fired from each bulb, filling the air with hundreds, maybe thousands of small blasts, each of which was racing towards Ace with blistering speed. The champion of time threw himself into a lightning quick series of dodges and evasions as he weaved in and out between the seemingly endless barrages that came at him from all sides and all angles. The myriad of blasts peppered the devastated ground upon which they fought, along with much of the surrounding buildings and landscape.

"Shit!" Ace spun about to face his opponent. If he just kept dodging the whole city, possibly the whole world would be torn to pieces. Without hesitation he thrust his hands forward and released a Kamehameha which blew right through all of the oncoming blasts and rocketed towards the mysterious woman. The tendrils on her back quickly wrapped around her, and when the beam struck those tendrils it dissipated harmlessly.

Ace blinked in momentary surprise, but quickly dismissed it. Before the woman could make another move, he raised his hands before his face and cried out "Solar Flare!" An intense flash of light erupted from his palms, and he could hear the woman cry out as she was momentarily blinded by the technique. He closed the distance in the blink of an eye and grabbed her face with his left hand. He accelerated as fast as he could towards the edge of the floating continent that Conton City sat upon. He intended to cast her off the side and out into the streams of time where she would hopefully be lost forever.

This idea seemed not to agree with the villain, for she pushed both hands against his chest and released a raw, unfocused blast of ki into him. It wasn't enough to harm him, but it did knock him off of her, allowing her to halt her momentum and regain her footing less than a dozen feet from the edge of the world.

With an angry shout she whipped her energy tendrils around to wrap around Ace's wrists and neck. Before he could attempt to remove them, an agonizing current of energy coursed through the tendrils and into his body eliciting a scream of pain. He felt his knees weakening as the energy ran through his body wreaking havoc on his innards. He could feel his consciousness beginning to fade. A fresh wave of desperate anger rose up in him. He couldn't afford to lose, not here, and not now.

He flared his aura with an almighty roar, drawing out every last ounce of power he could from within the depths of his being. Much to his satisfaction, and the woman's horror, the tendrils were torn apart by this renewed flow of power, freeing Ace from their insidious grasp.

The woman let out a pained gasp and collapsed to her hands and knees. It looked like she was struggling to catch her breath. That was fine by Ace, he could use a moment to regain his own composure after that last exchange.

"Damn," the woman groaned. "You really are every bit the champion I heard you were. I admit it, there is no way I can defeat you through battle, you truly are amazing."

Ace regarded her with a harsh glare. Her tone was one of sincerity, but he didn't care. "Thanks for the compliment, but like I said, you only had one chance to surrender, and you turned it down. You should prepare yourself now. I swear, I'll make it quick."

She surprised him with a laugh as she struggled to stand on shaky legs. "Oh, silly boy, I'm not trying to surrender. I just wanted give you my respect, and apologize. It really is a shame that everything has to end this way after you fought so hard to defend it all. I didn't really want to play this card yet, but it seems I don't have a choice."

Ace wanted to ask what she meant, but froze when she withdrew an object from her pocket. It was an orb, roughly the size of a closed fist, perfectly smooth and black, so black that it almost looked more like a hole in space than a physical object. "What is that?" He asked warily

"Like I said," the woman said with a smile. "Everything has to end." With those words she crushed the orb in her hand. In an instant all of reality seemed to pull into her even as it was pushed away. The last thing Ace saw before he too was caught in the phenomenon were a number of vaguely humanoid shapes forming in a circle around the woman as her eyes widened in fear and anger, and then he knew nothing more.

* * *

The assembled time patrollers watched in mounting horror as the strange darkness expanded rapidly, consuming everything in its path. All of them could feel it, though not in the normal way. It wasn't like ki, which had a clear presence. It was more like an absence of presence so utterly complete that it stood out as being so thoroughly unusual and wrong that it could not be ignored.

"Oh no." They all turned to see Chronoa watching the oncoming nightmare with a blank expression, a frightened looking Toki-toki perched on her shoulder.

"Supreme kai of time?" Lenteal asked quietly, hating the note of uncertainty that she heard in her words.

Chronoa shook her sharply once. "Quick, everyone stand around me. We only have a few seconds!" They rushed to follow her command. Once the assembled warriors stood in a loose circle around her, the supreme kai of time produced a time scroll from within the folds of her robe. All of them felt the energy of time enclosing them and carrying them away. Just before the were swept away to a new time completely, Chronoa pointed a finger towards the portal that led to the time nest and loosed a blast of energy into the archway that produced the portal, destroying both in an instant, severing the time nest from the rest of space and time. An instant later they were swept away to a different time. Hardly a moment later the all consuming darkness swept over the spot where they had stood, and Conton City vanished.


End file.
